Improving fisheries policy

WWF is working with governments, fisheries, and international fora to strengthen and enact legislation, treaties, and agreements to restore marine life and minimize bycatch and damage to marine habitats.

Long-term success in reducing ecosystem damage caused by fishing must be underpinned by appropriate policy and legislation at national and international levels.

Our underlying principle is ecosystem-based management (EBM), which aims to achieve the sustainable exploitation of natural resources by balancing the social and economic needs of human communities with the maintenance of healthy ecosystems.

Examples of this work include:

Advocacy: For example, we worked successfully for the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to start tackling cetacean bycatch.

Research: We perform cutting-edge research on fisheries and bycatch to help governments and the fishing industry keep abreast of new trends and to react accordingly.

Bringing experts together: We help organize workshops and other events that bring together fisheries and other experts to find solutions to bycatch.

WWF urges the IWC to take action to save whales, dolphins, and porpoises from death by drowning through bycatch